{"id":26893,"date":"2026-08-04T04:59:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26893"},"modified":"2026-08-04T04:59:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:59:51","slug":"nakobe-dean-and-quay-walker-join-forces-with-eric-stokes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26893","title":{"rendered":"Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker join forces with Eric Stokes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/03\/Raiders_Camp_Football_38317_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>HENDERSON, Nev. \u2014 When the Raiders were looking to improve their roster in the offseason, two of their moves were to bring in a pair of former Georgia teammates accustomed to playing at a high level.<\/p>\n<p>Linebackers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nakobe-dean\/\">Nakobe Dean<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/quay-walker\/\">Quay Walker<\/a> played on the Bulldogs\u2019 2021 national championship team before going on to the NFL. Dean played for Philadelphia, winning the Super Bowl two seasons ago, and Walker was at regular playoff participant Green Bay.<\/p>\n<p>They joined former Georgia teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/eric-stokes\/\">Eric Stokes<\/a>, who enters his second season as a Las Vegas starting cornerback after signing a contract extension.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt helps a lot to where like we got our own little things that we used to say throughout UGA,\u201d Stokes said. \u201cEven in the meeting room, we\u2019ll make little jokes or whatever, like we used to do back in college. But it\u2019s just another building block to it and we all are just happy to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Raiders first-year coach Klint Kubiak said bringing all three players together created instant chemistry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a phenomenal program there (at Georgia),\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cHappy to have those guys and hope that their toughness rubs off on the rest of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/multimedia\/collection\/georgia-nfl-nakobe-dean-quay-walker-2026-08\/\" target=\"_blank\">PHOTOS: From Georgia to the NFL: Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker join forces with Eric Stokes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"\/>\n<p>The Raiders could use the help.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>They were 25th last season in allowing 25.4 points per game, though more middle of the pack in yards given up (317.8) because the Raiders\u2019 offense struggled to move the ball. That, in turn, kept the defense on the field, creating opportunities for opposing offenses to take advantage of a tiring set of defenders.<\/p>\n<p>Las Vegas was last in the NFL with just 14.2 points per game and with 28:02 average time of possession.<\/p>\n<p>So changes were made on both sides of the ball, the offense most notably upgrading its quarterback position by signing veteran Kirk Cousins and drafting Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza first overall. The Raiders also bring back Brock Bowers, another Georgia product, who has become one of the league\u2019s top tight ends and is having a strong training camp.<\/p>\n<p>Then on defense, they brought in Dean and Walker.<\/p>\n<p>Injuries have sidetracked Dean two of the past three seasons, but in 2024, he started 15 games for the Eagles\u2019 Super Bowl team and made 128 tackles, including nine for loss.<\/p>\n<p>He missed Raiders organized team activities and minicamp this year because of an undisclosed injury, but has been a full participant in training camp.<\/p>\n<p>Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard said Dean has brought a sense of \u201ccommand, confidence,\u2018Robbie, get out of my huddle.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels good to have that at the (middle) linebacker,\u201d Leonard said.<\/p>\n<p>He was just as glowing in speaking of Walker\u2019s approach, saying \u201che loves to be coached hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like with Dean, Walker is searching for a new beginning in Las Vegas, but hasn\u2019t been dogged by injuries like his former and current teammate.<\/p>\n<p>Walker started 57 games over four years with the Packers, including 14 last season. He reached triple digits in tackles each season and totaled 29 for loss for his entire tenure in Green Bay.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just trying to bring a certain intensity here, certain type of culture, a way guys should really play, which is the \u2018Raider Way\u2019, fast, physical, just with a certain type of attitude,\u201d Walker said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not trying to come here and beat everybody else. I think everybody can say the right things, but it\u2019s another thing to go out there and actually do it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I\u2019m just focusing on proving my point and proving myself right, proving the organization and my teammates right, and just going out there and playing the right way, and just let my play speak for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dean and Walker are back with Stokes, who played for Georgia from 2018-20. Stokes produced a comeback season of sorts with the Raiders last season, starting a career-high 16 games and playing his first four seasons with the Packers. Pro Football Focus rated him the 14th-best cornerback last season out of 114.<\/p>\n<p>The Raiders awarded him with a three-year, $30 million contract, with $20 million of it guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a big family here to where it\u2019s hard to leave here,\u201d Stokes said. \u201cYou feel loved, you feel welcomed, you feel the energy from everybody in the building and it\u2019s just pretty much contagious to where you want to build with, you want to grow with. You see the direction everybody going with, and you love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Injury updates<\/h3>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Tight end Michael Mayer \u201cbusted his nose open\u201d in practice Monday, Kubiak said, but noted the player will be fine. Wide receiver Dont\u2019e Thornton Jr. was back at practice after being helped off the field Sunday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"permission\" style=\"padding-top: 25px;\">\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.\n                        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HENDERSON, Nev. \u2014 When the Raiders were looking to improve their roster in the offseason, two of their moves were to bring in a pair of former Georgia teammates accustomed to playing at a high level. Linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker played on the Bulldogs\u2019 2021 national championship team before going on to the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/03\/Raiders_Camp_Football_38317_c0-241-5784-3615_s1200x700.jpg?5109531ace6ea1e44e6c858092690ec5ccdfde31","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}